Electric motor-switch.



l. R. COOK.

ELECTRIC MOTOR SWITCH. APPLICATION FILED AuG.9I9I7.

1,292,714. Patented ,Ia11.28,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET J. R. COOK.

ELECTRIC Mom SWITCH. APPLICAUON FILED AUG.9.1917.

1,292,714. vPatented Jan.28,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JNyglylo@ C UNITED STATES 'PATENT oFFioE.

JOEL R. COOK, OF CLEVELAND. OHIO, ASSIGNOR T0 THE DOMESTIC ELECTRIC COMPANY, 0F CLEVELAND` OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

ELECTRIC MOTOR-SWITCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J al1. 28, 1919.

To N whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I. JOEL R. COOK. a cit-izen of the Fnited States. residing at C leveland. in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio. have invented a certain new and useful yImprovement in Electric Motor- Switches. of which the following is a full. clear. and exact description. reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to centrifugal electric switches. The essential object of the invention is to provide a simple etfec-tive switch adapted to open or close a circuit .when the. rotary element t0 which it is attached attains a predetermined speed. and to reverse the movement when the speed falls below a predetermined point. A more particular obje-et of the invention is to so construct the switch that its opening movement may be accomplished at a ditl'erent speed from that atwhich the closing movement occurs. The switch is particularly designed for ilse in connection .with motors of a type employing auxiliary starting windings in addition to a working winding and which auxiliary windings are cut out upon the attainment of a predetermined speed and remain electrically disconnected 'until the motor falls to a speed considerably below the cutting out speed.

More specic objects of the invention are to so construct the switch thatit may be positive in operation. very quick in action avoiding sparking and wear. and capable of being nianufautured from sheet metal by punching and stamping ope ations. thereby accomplishing its very cheap manufacture.

rier.

)ly invention is hereinafter more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawings. and the essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings. Figure 1 is a side elevation 0f a motor equipped with my invention. a portion of the motor being axially sectioned to illustrate the position of the switch parts. Fig. 2 illustrates the switch in end elevation. showing diagrammatically the circuit connections for a single phase motor.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one switch element and its actuating centrifugal member and coacting spring mounted on the car- Fig. -1 is an end elevation similar t0 Fig. 2. showing a single switch element and Fig. 5 is a radial section substantially on the line `5 5 in Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an edge view of the p arts shown in Fig. 1. omitting the cont-act. ring.

Describing the parts by the use of reference characters` 1 indicates a motor housing integral with a suitable base 2 and carrying the tield winding indicated at 3. End plates -l are titted to the part 1 and have suitable bearings indiated at 5 for an armature shaft 6. On the armature shaft is carried the usual rotor 7. Suitably insulated from the rotor T and carried rigidly thereby is a supporting disk 10 carrying movable switch contacts and actuating means therefor. to be hereinafter described. The contacts coactwith the split ring forming a pair of contact segments 30 and 31. each having an outwardly turned flange portion secured to a support 32. rigidlv secured to the end member l of the motor frame by screws indicated at To these non-rotatable segments may be connected .wires indicated at 31 and 35, one connected with each segment and leading to the coils. as will be presently described.

The disk 10 is shown as secured to the rotor by screws S extending through insulating washers 9 at each side of the plate. while the shank of the screw passes through an enlarged opening filled .with insulating material. The disk 10 is thereby insulated from the rotor while securely fastened thereto. On this disk 10 are pivotally mounted a plurality of the contactlever carrying arms. preferably three in number. and shown as comprising arcuate contact portions 1:2 turned laterally from shank portions or arms 13 pivoted at l-l to the disk support. 10. The screws S pass through openings 11 in this support. and the openings 11 are so spaced as to prevent the screw heads interfering with the movement of the contact. arms. The contact arms have shortoutwardly extending arms 15. each provided with an opening receiving the end of a tension spring 16, standing opposite the edge of the disk .which is cutaway. as indicated at 1i'. to clear thespring. The other end of the spring is passed through an opening in a short arm 20 pivoted at Q1 and integral with a centrifugal armextending in an arcuate path around the segments 30 and 31 normally clearing the same at all times.

Three of the centrifugal arms 22 are arranged'to overlap each other so that .each arm may comprise more than a half circle and have its weighted end, opposite the pivot 2l, stand in a position normally bringing the center of gravity of this arm nearly dialnetrically opposite this pivot, but just slightly ott' from the center, whereby the outward movement of each arm 22 may be accelerated under the action of the centrifugal force by reason of its center of gravity continually moving away from the center.- This change of the center of gravity, from a point nearly opposite its pivot to a point bringing the line of force through the pivot and the een# ter of g'ravity farther and fart-her fromI the center of rotation, increases the centrifugal component, so that the latter part of the outward movement of this arm `is much more rapid than the first or inner portion of the movement. By adjusting the tension of the spring 16r in proper relation to the weight of the arms, Imay cause, this movement to occur suddenly after the rotor has attained the predetermined speed and thereby accomplish the entire outward movement of t-he arm during a comparatively few rotations of the rotor.

To cause this arm to move the Contact l2 outwardly, I provide an offset reach in the arm 13 by splitting it longitudinally so that one portion lies adjacent the disk 10 and another portion stands outwardly therefrom in the path of aflug 25 integral with and turned inwardly from the inner edge of the centrifugal arm 22. It will be seen that the spring 16 tends to urge the arm 22 inwardly and at the same time to urge the contact 12 into engagement with the split ring segments 30 and 31. Now, as the arm 22 moves outwardly, the first portion of its movement preferably does not affect the movement of the contact member 12,' but, on the contrary, stretches the spring 16, urging-the contact more tightly into engagement with the ring, but upon the attainment of the predetermined speed, the finger 25 engages the shoulder 24: formed by the splitting and offsetting of the arm 13 and quickly raises the contact from the ring. Further increase of speed brings the conta-ct to the posit-ion'shown in Fig. l, the arm 22 being moved outwardly to a position where its outward component is the greatest. A reductionv of the speed then, to a very much lower speed than the speed at which the contact is moved outwardly, is necessary before the spring will overcome the centrifugal force act-ing at the maximum outward component of the arm 22.

I have found that the use of two contacts engaging the ring 30. while producing the theoreticallyv correct'operation, doe's not produce as good Aresults as three or more contacts. thexlatter insuring two of the contacts always being urged against the surfaces of the segments at points other, than their,-

points of separation atall times. That is to say, while one contact 1s crossing the point of separation the other two contacts. are pressed against the smooth surface Aof the respective segments as lillustrated in Fig. 2, whereas, if only two contacts are depended upon to'close the circuit through these segments, the irregularities incident to the separation between the segments cause, in actual practice, a sparking yery difficult indeed to overcome. y

In using three contacts it becomes necessary to provide means insuring their simultaneous separation from the segments. This I accomplishby providing slightly inwardly curved slots 2T in eachof the arms, and on each arm I provide a pin 28 loosely engaging such slot and rigid 4in the arm which overlaps the slot. Thus, each of the centrifugal arms carries a pin 28 engaging the slot 2T in the arm which it overlaps, insuring a simultaneous expanding and contracting movement ot'v a sectional rlng formed by the overlapping centrlfugal arms. The result is that no one of the arms can move out wardly independently of the others, and I may accordingly make these arms much more cheaply, as they do not have to be equally balanced and any inaccuracy of workmanship in the fitting of the arms and pivoting them to the carrier does not affect the simultaneous outward movementof the contacts.

In the embodiment shown, a motor circuit including a working coil is diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 2 at 36 directly connected across the line wires 37 and 38. A' starting coil 39 is connected at one end to the wire 38 and at `its other end through the wire 34 to the segment 30. The segment 31 is connected through the wire 35 to the line wire 37'.4 lVhen the contacts 12 arein engagement withy the segments 30V and 3l they form a 'constant bridge across theseksegments, the current passing from one segment to the other through any one contact arm4 to the disk ring 10 .to another contactarm and lto the opposite segment. Thus, during the starting of .the motor, the switch is in the position shown in Fig. 2 in which the starting coil' operates in .parallel with the working coil 36-and the brushes 12, maintained in contactvwith the segments 30and 31 by the springs 16 while rotating about ,the split ring formed by these segments, close the circuit across the same.

The weighted arms 22 may carry washers mounted at their outer ends and secured bv A rivets through openings 23 formed therein (the washers are omitted for clearness of illustration). When the rotor attains a predeterminedspeed the centrifugal arms start their outward movement, and as the rotor increases in speed the fingers 25 engage the contact-carrying arms at a time when the arms 22 are moving outwardly with comparative rapidity and the centrifugal force acting on these arms combined with that acting on the comparatively long arms carrying the contacts, causes the contacts to be suddenly separated from the segment members, breaking the circuit through the starting coil 39 and causing the current subsequently delivered to pass only through the working coils 36.

Upon shutting off the current passing through the coil 36 the motor at once diminishes its speed, but as the arms 22 are in the position at which the least centrifugal force is required to maintain their distended position the motor slows down to a very much lower speed than that at which the contacts were removed from the segments before the contacts are again brought into engagement therewith. By way of illustration, one form of motor on which I have employed this switch uses the starting coils up to substantially twelve hundred revolutions per minute, whereupon the contacts are almost instantaneously separated from the segments and the `motor may then increase its speed up to about seventeen hundred fifty revolutions per minute, andmay decrease its speed to substantially six hundred revolutions per minute before the contacts 12 again engage the segments.

By reason of interlocking the actuating levers and by reason of the construction shown, I am able to make the parts from comparatively cheaply formed sheet metal readily cut and punched into shape, thus forming a durable and cheap and yet eifective switch.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, a stationary contact, a coacting contact arm movably mounted uponthe support and tending by reason of its own weight to move radially under the influence of centrifugal force, yielding. means normally preventing such movement, a weighted arm movably mounted on Said support, said weighted arm and contact arm having slight relatively independent movement and said weighted 'arm being adapted to engage and cause the actuation 'of the contact arm at a time when the rotary member .attains a 'members fluence of centrifugal force and adapted to engage and cause the movement of the contact armconsequent upon the attainment of a predetermined speed of rotation 3. In a centrifugal switch, the combination -of a rotary support, movable contact members mounted upon said support, weighted members movably mounted on the support and adapted to actuate the contact members, a spring connecting each contact member with a weighted member and normally preventing outward movement of each.

4. In a. centrifugal switch` the com'bination of a rotary support, movable contact mounted upon said support, weighted members rotated by the support and adapted to actuate the contact members, yielding means connecting each contact member with a weighted member and normally preventing outward movement of each, whereby the contacts maybe moved consequent upon the attainment of a predetermined speed, and means for causing a simultaneous movement of the contact meinbers.

5. The combination, in a. centrifugal switch. of a rotary support, stationary contact ring members, a plurality of arms carrying contact members and pivoted at one end t0 the support, springs connected with said arms for urging the contacts into engagement with the segments, said contactmembers and arms tending to move outwardly under the influence of centrifugalforce,` weighted arms pivoted to the support and each connected with theother end of one of said vsprings whereby each spring may urge .a contact and a weighted arm inwardly.

6. The combination in a centrifugal switch of arotary support, a stationary contact ring, a plurality of arms carrying the contact members and pivoted at one end to the support, springs connected withsaidarms for urging the contacts into engagement with the ring` said contact members and arms tending to move outwardly7 under the infiuence of centrifugal force. weighted levers pivoted to the support and each having a portion extending outwardly from the pivot and connected with the other end of one of said springs whereby each spring may urge a contact and an arm inwardly.

7. In-a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, a Contact ring about the axis of the support. a plurality of arms curved about said ring and cach pivoted to the support and having its center of gravity so positioned that it is substantially but not quitedianwtrically opposite the pivot of the arm and whereby the outward movement of the arm increases the outward component of its centrifugal pullv` a plurality of movable contact members carried by the support and by their own weight tending to move radially, means tending to hold them in contact with the ring, and means on each of the arms for engaging and quickly moving one of the contact members away from the ring.

8. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, circular contact lements, contacts engaging the same and revolved by the support, yielding means for urging each of the Contacts toward said contact elements, an annulus of three or more overlapping and successively articulated members carried by the support and adapted to expand under the influence of centrifugal force, and an elementl on the annulus for actuating each contact member, each Contact being capable of radial movement -relative to its element.

9. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, a stationary contact elelnent, a contact engaging the same and revolved by the support, yielding means for urging the 'contacts toward said contact element, an annulus of overlapping members carried by the support and successively jointed so as to be relativelyv slidable and to cause them to move, in unison to expand under the iniuence. of centrifugal force, and means on the annulus for disengaging the contact member.

l0. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, separated contact ringmembers, a'plurality of Contact members carried by .the support, said contacts being carried on arms pivoted to the support and having outwardly extending ears, springs connected with the ears and extending approximately tangentially therefrom, a pivoted weight lever for actuating leach contact pivoted to the support, each such lever having al corresponding ear attached to the other end of one of said springs, whereby each spring urges a contact and an arm inwardly, and means carried by each lever, and adapted to move the contacts outwardly as the levers are moved outwardly by centrifugal force.

11. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, a contact member carried pivotally by the support, and having an outwardly extending ear, a spring conlnected with the ear and extending approximately tangentially therefrom, a pivoted l weight lever member for actuating said contact and pivoted to the support and having an ear attached to the other end of said spring, whereby said spring urges the contact member toward the ring, a projection carried by one of said members, and a shoulder on the other member adapted to be engaged thereby to cause the contact member to move outwardly as the level member is moved outwardly by centrifugal force.

12. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, a plurality of contact members, arms carrying the contacts and pivoted to the support, springs connected with the arms, pivoted weight lever armsfor actuating each contact pivoted to the support, each lever being attached to 011e of said springs, whereby each spring urges a contact 'arm and a weight lever arm inwardly, coacting projections and shoulders carried by the weight and contact arms to move the contacts outwardly as the levers are lnoved outwardly by centrifugal force, each lever arm overlapping another llever arm and extending in a substantially arcuate path.

13. In a centrifugal switch, the combination of a rotary support, separated circular `contact members, a plurality of contact; members carried by the support, said contacts being carried on arms pivoted to the support and havlng outwardly extending ears,

springs connected with the ears and extending approximately tangentially therefrom, a pivoted weight lever for actuating each contact pivoted to the support, each such lever having a corresponding ear attached tothe other endrof one of said springs,

ywhereby each spring urges a contact and an arm inwardly, a proJection carried by each lever, and a shoulder`on each contact arm adapted to be engaged thereby to move the contacts outwardly as the levers are moved outwardly by centrifugal force. each lever overlapping another lever and extending in a. substantially arcuate path, the levers being offset for substantially the thickness of the lever whereby they may nest one on the.

other.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature.

JOEL R. COOK. 

